Since 2000, 231 killed by intimate partners in Connecticut

Since 2000, 231 people have been killed by their intimate partners in Connecticut, according to new data released Thursday.

A report by the Connecticut Coalition Against Domestic Violence analyzed 222 of those deaths occurring from 2000 to 2015.

“Connecticut continues to see an average of 14 intimate partner homicides each year,” said Karen Jarmoc, the coalition’s chief executive officer. “Another 3,600 individuals have suffered serious, near-fatal injuries since 2000.

Last year, eight people were killed; 13 in 2014; and 12 in 2013. So far this year, nine people have been killed, according to the coalition’s count based on media reports.

“Each of these victims’ stories provide important opportunities for us to view and strengthen a system intended to protect them,” Jarmoc said.

Of the 231, six were killed in Danbury, 25 in Bridgeport, two in Greenwich and three each in Stamford and Norwalk.

Jarmoc said one reason these numbers have not spiked recently is the implementation of the state’s Lethality Assessment Program (LAP). Many police departments across the state use the new screening tool to quickly assess the dangers to potential victims when responding to domestic violence calls.

Officers use an 11-item questionnaire to help decide whether someone in the home is at a high risk of being seriously injured or killed. Depending on the answers, officers can call a community's local domestic violence agency 24/7 to seek advice, or have the victim speak directly with a trained counselor.

Since September 2012, police statewide have conducted about 12,062 LAP screenings. Of those, 52 percent suggested the victim was at high risk for serious injury or death, and about 79 percent of these were put in immediate contact with trained domestic violence counselors.

When officers from Danbury and other area departments call a domestic violence counselor from the scene, someone from the Women’s Center of Greater Danbury answers the phone.

“It has created an environment where victims are getting the support, the help and most importantly the safety planning tools they need at the time a crime against them has taken place,” said Suzanne Adam, the center’s chief operating officer. “Once someone is connected to life-saving services, just that happens, you save a life.”

Danbury started its LAP program in 2013. Since then, screenings have increased each year. From 2013 to 2015, officers screened 684 people, nearly half of whom were found to be at high risk. Of that group, 43 percent spoke to someone from the Women’s Center.

During the first eight months of 2016, officers screened 266 people; just over half were classified as high-risk. Of that group, again, 43 percent spoke to a domestic violence hotline worker.

The last intimate partner homicide in Danbury occurred in 2011.

But even with programs like LAP, Adam knows that domestic violence continues to plague the city and municipalities across the state and country.

“Sadly, domestic violence impacts Danbury just like any other community across the nation,” she said. “Domestic violence is pervasive and insidious. It is an abusive control that can happen to anyone, regardless of your race, religion, ethnicity or gender.”

Now in its 16th year, the committee has conducted over 70 in-depth case reviews of intimate partner fatalities and near-fatalities. The group includes experts in victim advocacy, social services, healthcare, child advocacy, offender education, law enforcement, corrections and the judicial system.

The report’s recommendations focus on offender accountability, victim resources, health care and training. Holding offenders accountable for their behavior is the most effective way to provide them with the opportunity to learn and choose new behaviors that will lead to safe and stable families, according to the coalition.

From 2000 to 2015, intimate partner homicides represented 13 percent of the state’s overall homicide rate, with the parties most often being married and firearms remaining the most commonly used weapon in the killings. The victims and offenders are most often between the ages of 25 and 34.

Thirty percent of the state’s intimate partner homicides resulted in murder/suicides, of which 79 percent were committed with a firearm.

The committee also noted that partner homicide continues to be a leading cause of death for pregnant women, while experiencing any abuse during pregnancy is associated with a number of poor health outcomes for both the mother and the child.

“Healthcare providers’ relationships with their patients make them strategically positioned to identify and respond to victims of intimate partner violence,” said Dr. Madeleine Biondolillo, the vice president of population health management at the Connecticut Hospital Association, in a statement.

“Strengthening our ability to help all victims, but particularly pregnant or postpartum women, some of the most vulnerable victims, is a commonsense endeavor for the healthcare community,” Biondolillo added.